from the dw studios in berlin, this is the "journal." >> our headlines at this hour -- daring to defrost -- russia and the u.s. and high-level talks that feel like the cold war. we will go live to washington. >> caught in someone else's war -- how the conflict in syria is taking its toll on the country's children. >> and bundesliga is back. bayern kick off the german soccer season.

there is a chill in the air and it has people reminiscing about the cold war. >> foreign ministers from the united states and russia met in washington. their mission -- to bridge the differences that have stopped talks between their bosses. >> u.s. president barack obama canceled plans to meet russian president putin next month. >> what sounded like a slap at obama, the russian prime minister told reporters it is time for the u.s. and russia to work together as grown-ups. >> he came to washington with a long list of issues. up for discussion, afghanistan, iran, and north korea, arms control, and human rights. both sides were ready for open and frank talks, but on this day, one issue overshadowed all the rest. >> it's no secret that we have

experienced some challenging moments. obviously not just over the snowden case. we will discuss these differences today for certain, but this meeting remains important above and beyond the collisions and the moments of disagreement. >> both sides have signaled agreement, and a lot depends on us. we need to work together in an adult manner. we have done our part, and we expect a similar attitude in return. >> so the foreign ministers are talking, but few expect big breakthroughs here. >> let's pull in our washington correspondent. we see the ministers talking, but i'm still wondering why these talks matter. at the end of the day, the

presidents are not talking, and that is the problem here. >> i think nobody really wants to see a new cold war, and for that reason, those talks are very important. both countries share many interests, and i think this is crucial, for example, preventing iran from developing a nuclear bomb. both countries have to work together on the so-called war on terror. neither country wants afghanistan to become a ailed state after western forces leave the country next year. so they share many interests, but the u.s. and russia also disagree on many issues like the situation in syria arms control. despite the disagreement, both countries depend on each other. >> we know that u.s. president barack obama is holding a press conference now. what can we expect him to tell us if anything.

>> this will be obama's official meeting with the press following the news that it would snowden pwas given asylum in moscow. i expect him to talk about the issue and answer questions on the nsa civilian -- nsa surveillance program, to explain it because there is a growing distrust in the u.s. when it comes to privacy. from what i can speculate -- i think also he will touch n the peace talks between israelis and palestinians. >> in washington with our crystal ball, thank you very much. >> let's not forget that this cooling of relations resulted from russia granting asylum to nsa whistleblower edward snowden. now in a related story, a secure e-mail service thought to be used by snowden has been abruptly closed down.

the service, lavabit, appears to have made the decision to shut itself down rather than comply with demand by the government to provide access to customer information. >> the company owner said in a statement, "i have been forced to make a difficult decision -- to become complicit in crimes against the american people or walk away from nearly 10 years of hard work by shutting down lavabit." u.s. president barack obama has spent part of the week huddling to brainstorm what can be done to restore public trust in the wake of the nsa affair. lex in germany, several e-mail providers are not waiting for their government to act. they are joining forces to protect customer e-mails. here is more. >> a cooperative program that

aims to help german internet providers when that customer trust, a recently sponsored poll said more than half of internet users here had serious reservations about online activity. united internet and dr. telecom argentina or sis. at a press conference, the ceo said the issue had taken the industry by surprise. >> people only realize the problem existed in the last few months. we could not have comprehended the scale of it. the alleged scale of it, i should say, of the surveillance of german traffic. we were not aware of it. it was not clear to any of us. >> the firms say they will channel and through domestic service and that they will be encrypted. it's not clear if german intelligence agencies will have

the ability to decipher e-mails. some privacy advocates 80 measures do not go far enough. lex to the middle east now, and supporters of mohamed morsy are again rallying in the capital, cairo, in defiance of warnings from the military-backed government that the squares they have assembled and will soon be cleared by force. >> morsi's supporters say that he was democratically elected, and they are demanding he be reinstated. the transitional government has warned them to leave peacefully, or they will face confrontation. violent confrontations are feared for this week and now that the fasting month of ramadan has come to an end. gunmen in the lebanese capital of a route had kidnapped two turkish airline pilots -- lebanese capital of beirut. >> the two pilots were in a van with other crew members leaving beirut airport when the assailants forced them to stop. only the pilots were duct.

a previously unknown shiite group says they will set them free once syrian rebels have released nine hostages. turkey has advised citizens in lebanon to leave the country. some ball boy's main opposition party has challenged the results of last week's elections, calling on the country's top or to a no robert mcgaugh they -- annu -- top court to annul robert mugabe's victory. western observers also criticized the poll as unfair. in europe's italy's parliament hopes a new stimulus package can help jumpstart the country's flailing economy. >> most of that money will go to major infrastructure projects like axing the national railway

and building new streets and schools. the plan also includes tax incentives for businesses that reinvest profits and refrain from cutting workers. onto the markets, and after suffering declines, our correspondents send us the summary of the friday trading session at the frankfurt stock exchange. >> shares were gaining, but not overwhelmingly so. that makes it very difficult to predict whether rich chinese will continue to spend money for german cars as generously as they used to. he trading week here in frankfurt ended slightly lower, and traders are not convinced whether next week's earnings report will manage to change the mood significantly. companies will present their earnings to two large utilities.

all of these companies have been facing a difficult time recently. >> we stay in frankfurt for a closer look at the closing numbers in frankfurt. the dax up by .20 five percent. euro stoxx 50 up by .3%. across the atlantic, the dow currently off by .4%. the euro trading at a value of $1.3343. >> all right, news now of a prestige project that is in danger of becoming a huge embarrassment for germany. >> the country's first commercially viable offshore wind farm is set to be officially inaugurated on saturday. >> the wind farm can potentially deliver clean energy to 120,000 homes, but due to a series of delays, there is still no cable connection to carry the power to land. >> the delays are currently

forcing the wind farm itself to suck up large amounts of diesel fuel. >> just 14 months after construction began, the offshore wind park is up and not running. the windmills all stand idle due to unforeseen delays. >> we are really frustrated. the wind park has been built, but it is still off-line. the cable company has not just laying the cable that will connect us to shore, so all we can do is bide our time. >> tenant is a state-owned dutch company. >> the cable would run around the island to the mainland, but world war ii munitions have been laid on the last 15 kilometers. the project has been plagued by construction delays. german politicians have begun voicing their concerns.

this shows that it makes sense to create a national cable company with partial state ownership. that way there is a way to exert pressure so that projects are finished on time. germany desperately needs more offshore wind parks, and these parks need a reliable electric grid. >> if the grid were in place, the wind park could start generating power immediately. for now, diesel generators are used to keep the windmill computers from overheating. >> more and more german investigators are betting on cold -- gold. rumors of a gold bubble spooked financial houses earlier in the year, causing gold to drop a quarter of its value. now, private investors smell a bargain and are flocking to the historically stable investment. german sales to private buyers have tripled in the past few months. car sales in china rose again last month but not as quickly as the world's largest auto market

entered traditionally slow growth in the summer. >> that's right. 10% more cars were sold in china in july compared to the same time last year. sales of japanese and german models were especially strong. chinese brands and not perform as well. all right, the civil war in serious has entered its third year. neighboring countries are struggling to cope with the influx of refugees. >> the situation is especially bleak for children who have lost their homes or witnessed violence and destruction. >> they have experienced atrocities. many have lost family members. some one million children are among the refugees fleeing to syria's neighboring countries, particularly lebanon. in this camp in the east, more than 10 people are crammed into a shelter like this.

world vision has supplied the camp with water and toilet facilities, but water is running out, and children are worst-hit. >> the biggest at two children at the moment, and especially in the summer heat, comes from water shortages and dirty water, which can cause a lot of potentially fatal diseases in young children. but world vision says supplying children with the basics they need to survive is not enough and is calling for more be done to help displaced children continue their education. without it, their future looks grim. >> estimates indicate that around 40% of series refugee children are at least getting a primary school education, but only 2%, a tiny portion, have access to secondary education. they are simply cut off from the education system. >> the organization is calling on the international community to provide more money to support school projects at refugee

camps. that applies especially to lebanon, which is struggling to cope with the huge numbers of syrians flooding into the country. >> we're back after a short break with news on gold mines and the bundesliga. >> welcome back. we kick off with german soccer. the new bundesliga getting underway with a showdown between defending champions bayern munich. >> it is a clash with a lot of history, and interest is huge. much attention will be focused on the performance of new coach pep guardiola. >> after achieving spectacular success as the coach of barcelona, it is hoped he can do the same here. >> a new challenge for pep guar

diola. he has been head coach of bayern munich for just over a month. >> everything is new. it is a good experience. >> he has a hard act to follow, but he has already put his own stamp on a team with new recruits. he is focusing on short passes and on maintaining possession as well as on a new, more attack- focused play, by moving one player forward from defense. new tactics for new trophies? >> i'm grateful, and i know i'm here to win. >> the new manager has already proven himself. bayern is through to the next round of the german cup, but there was a defeat as well to archrivals dortmund in the super cup. >> we will play well.

to win the bundesliga one more time. >> things start this evening when bayern play in the bundesliga opener, a test for the new manager and his revamped team. >> our sports correspondent is in the studio with me now for some analysis. what mark would you say guardiola has made? >> it has been a significant mark already, and i think some would say it has been too much change too soon. he has already changed the formation very significantly. the downside of that is that it breaks up the very successful partnership in the midfield who were so good last season. it puts a lot of responsibility, it seems, on a newcomer who is certainly a very promising player, but he has really had a

lot of credibility staked on him. he came in at a great rise from barcelona. his agent is guardiola's brother, and there is a danger he might be teachers pet who has been promised a starting spot with more established names on the bench. >> bayern won everything last season. how can they better that? what our fans expecting? >> you could do it quantitatively and when another trophy, or qualitatively and perhaps defend champions league title, which no one has ever done before. i think -- certainly, i think his thinking is if he shakes things up, at least he will read motivate the players so they will not rest on their laurels after such a successful season last time around. that is obviously a huge risk, but i think as long as he can win a trophy of some description, he should keep the fans and club on his side, but it is still going to be a fascinating season. >> sounds like it.

stay with us. we will be back with you in just a second. first, we want to look at the competition. as we know, bayern won everything there was to win last season, but there is no shortage of challengers who would dearly love to upstage them. >> but are any of them good enough to shake the dominance of the bavarian giant? >> bayern munich -- are they unstoppable? three teams could make is difficult. first up, when team has invested heavily in new stars. an armenian midfielder cost them 25 million euros, the most team has ever paid for a player. could the new recruits be a winning formula? >> what about schalke?

they brought in new players. many are pinning their hopes of topping the league on them. >> i would also like to play them, but i do not think that should be the yardstick by which we measure our own season. >> and the unpredictable neighbor fresh and from there championship. they are always game for a surprise. last season, they were the only team to beat bayern. >> we are proud to have beaten them, but the bottom-line is there is no way around them. >> as far as these three teams are concerned, bayern is the one to beat. even more pressure on the triple trophy winning team to stay on top of their game.

>> let's pull in our sports correspondent again. we have read challengers here. do any of them have a chance of winning the bundesliga? >> one of them does. dortmund certainly do. they have had their disappointments, recently. of course, losing the champions league final, losing their star player, but i think they are another team who will benefit from being shaken uptle bit. they suffered last season. the defense was very leaky. i think tearing up things and starting afresh is going to remind everyone of their hunger, their role in the team, how hard they have to work to really have a chance of beating bayern. >> what do you see the bundesliga becoming right now? is there a chance we are looking at a duopoly being created here? is the bundesliga possibly becoming bored? >> that is something critics are

leveling the moment. it really does seem to be reduced to bayern and dortmund. in the short term, that is probably true. i think in the medium term, though, the benefit of having the extra champions league place, which we have had now for -- this would be the third season -- would really intensify the competition at the top of the league, and i think we are already seeing how the other teams are aiming to cement their places in the top four. even if they are not challenging for the title this season, i think in the near future, they will be in better shape to do so. >> speaking of the title this season, who will be lifting the bundesliga trophy next may? >> i think it will be fired munich. not by the record they manage last season, but i think in may tom they will be there. >> as always, thank you very much. and things looking pretty good for bayern there, currently up

by a score of 2-1. >> let's talk about gold again. the price may have all and in recent weeks, but it is still one of the most sought after precious metals, highly unlikely to go out of fashion, and that is why countries that are literally sitting on a gold mine go to any length to extract the treasure. >> kidder stan is exactly such a country. its flagship old mind -- goldmine accounts for 12% of the country's gdp, but not everyone is convinced the mind is good for the country. recently, thousands of protesters called for a bigger share of the mine's profits, saying operations are causing massive environmental damage. >> it is labor intensive work. miners have to sit through 5000 tons of stone for one bar of gold. this is where it all begins -- 4000 meters high at the edge of a cure to stand nature preserve. workers did through massive

glaciers to get the gold trapped in the rock hello. extreme conditions make every stage of production difficult. >> we have to mine the ice. we have to mine the glacier because it actually moves in to the pit. we have to do that for safety, to protect the equipment, but also to protect the gold. >> critics say the mine threatens another precious resource -- fresh water. these glaciers are natural brought -- water reservoirs. huge machines grind down the stones to get at the gold inside. pure liquid gold trickles out at the end of a long smelting process. waste from the production process ends up here in a chemical pool next to the factory. the company says that dirty water poses no danger to people

or wildlife. >> you can see i touched it with my hand and everything, and the residual chemicals that are left is not enough to hurt somebody's health, ok? same with wildlife in the area. >> environmental experts is agreed. they say the liquid is toxic and warned that climate change or an earthquake could break the dam and release dangerous chemicals into the groundwater. mining activities have already affected one of the major rivers here. >> the mud and dust are thrown onto the glacier. the rocks soak up the sun and cause the ice to melt faster. then the dirty water gets into the river. it is a big age or for cure to stand and neighboring countries. -- a big danger for kurdistan -- a big danger for kyrgystan and

neighboring countries. >> finally, we are off to central america where archaeologists have discovered a 1500-year-old mayan freeze. they excavated the sculpture in the jungles of northern guatemala. >> the well preserved picture. researchers said the findings would provide important clues on the mayan civilization. they say further discoveries are likely. indiana jones would be on his way. all right, you are up to date. we will see you again at the top of the hour.

♪ >> thank you for watching. i am chris moore. thank you for watching. the u.s. is not interested in spying on people. they will now push ahead with special programs. the u.s. and russia are finding ways to progress, despite many disagreements. between theship white house and the kremlin continues to deteriorate over edward snowden. at